last month, calling for the removal of the section. they accused the site of profiting from the suffering of women and children who continue to be victimized by craigslist. >> over a number of years, we've persuaded craigslist to take action, eliminating prostitution ads. fortunately now it's done the right thing voluntarily. >> reporter: craigslist has been linked to several scandals. most famously, philip markoff, the so-called craigslist killer. generate $45 million this year. about one-third of the site's total profits. craigslist claims it was created for legitimate adult businesses. but critics consider the section a thinly veiled clearing out for prostitution. >> we're looking at craigslist as the walmart of online sex trafficking of minors. it is where the majority of young people we've assisted have been exploited. >> reporter: abc's david wright recently talked to a 20-year-old who said she was forced to work as a teenage sex slave by pimps who advertised her on craigsl t

craigslist. >> a typical ad would say, sexy teen girl, if you want to have some fun i appreciate 150 red roses per hour. >> reporter: we found similar ads on craigslist posted in toronto, like this one from busty and sexy. she advertises, when you come over to my place, you're going to have the good time of your life. craigslist only removed adult services content from their american sites. that's where we found several postings, from people like annessa rose, who wondered where should i post now? craigslist officials have not released a statement and we can not reach them for comment so we're not sure if these ads are gone for good or just for now. linsey davis, abc news, new york. former jet blue flight attendant steven slater claims he wasn't fired but instead quit his job. that claim follows widespread rumors that the carrier took disciplinary action against slater. the former flight attendant made a dramatic and of course headline-grabbing exit from a

flight in new york by deploying the plane's emergency slide. the incident came after an argument between slater and a passenger on that flight. slater is now reported to be in talks for what else, his own reality show. at least six small earthquakes have been reported in just one day in the state of oklahoma. it's the second time in less than a week that it's happened. the most recent quakes which registered on saturday range from a magnitude of 1.5 to 3.3. no injuries or damage has been reported from any of the quakes. with that here's a look at your labor day forecast. severe storms in the nation's midsection. gusty winds, large hail, and isolated tornados in minneapolis, des moines, and omaha. windy from the dakotas to montana and wyoming. heavy rain across southern texas. and showers from orlando to miami. >> mostly 90s along the gulf coast. 80 in new york. 78 in boston. 80s from detroit to kansas city. just 62 in seattle. and 71 in portland. phoenix climbs to 106.

and sacramento 94. well, they have roped in a new world record, dragging it now south of the border. >> a band of mexican cowboys and a few cowgirls now hold the guinness record for the largest number of people lassoing at the same time. 69 churros twirled the ropes simultaneously for nearly three minutes in the city of guadalajara. >> nice roll of the tongue there. >> you like that? >> they far surpassed the previous record of 23 which was set last year by texas. good ole cowboys. >> none of them look that happy to be breaking the record. it was almost like word. >> they were tired, what do you expect? nice job. we'll be back with more "world news now" rit after this.

next saturday marks the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. it's a somber week for many, also a week rife with debate. >> at the heart of that debate

the proposed islamic community center near ground zero. as dan harris reports it could be a very long week. >> there is only one truth, it's in this book. if it's not in this book it's not true. >> reporter: pastor bill keller, a notoriously anti-islamic televangelist who earned his theology degree while serving time for insider trading, held a small service at a hotel near ground zero where he wants to open a christian center to compete with the planned muslim community center. >> when they decided to build a mosque and preach what i consider a 1,400-year-old lie from hell, i decided that somebody should be down there preaching the truth of god's word. >> reporter: this is but a foretaste of what promises to be a hyper-politicized ninth anniversary of 9/11 coming up this saturday, which will feature a rally at ground zero, a church in florida burning korans -- >> we are going to have an international burn a koran day. >> reporter: and an event in alaska that will include glenn beck and sarah palin, two of the most vocal opponents of the

so-called ground zero mosque. >> critics say all the rhetoric is fueling anti-muslim violence, including a fire at the future side site of a mosque in tennessee which just this weekend was ruled to be an act of arson. >> we're asking for those individuals who know who may be responsible for this crime to come forward with that information. >> reporter: as mosques around the country beef up their security and reach out to other faiths for help, one muslim group is now running these ads designed to improve the image of the faith. >> i don't want to impose my faith on you. >> i don't want to take over this country. >> reporter: there's another concern many muslims have about this upcoming anniversary. due to a fluke in the calendar it happens to coincide with the muslim festival of eve. >> we are asking people to take ordinary precautions, given the almost hysterical atmosphere we're in right now. >> reporter: there is some concern among some muslims that they not be seen to be celebrating on the day that 9/11

is commemorated in this country. also, we should note that there is one nonpolitical event scheduled for the 9/11 anniversary. the former first lady, laura bush, will be appearing with the current first lady, michelle obama, in shanksville, pennsylvania, where flight 93 went down. dan harris, abc news, new york. >> and rob, we know that a lot of muslim centers and muslim events that are taking are taking place are actually increasing their security on 9/11. >> unusually tense 9/11. it's always a tough anniversary but even more so this year. so much going on around this issue. we'll cover that for sure. the danish company that built the iconic lego. >> that's right. with all the tech toys of today,

with so much technology out there, when you think of play time for kids you probably think

of the ipad or video games. >> you might be surprised to know one of the hottest toys these days is legos. our nick watts puts the pieces together on why they're as popular as ever. >> reporter: every day, millions of dismembered torsos, heads and legs roll off the production lines in a little danish town called billund. lego land castles, ramparts dominate the skylines. one in four people here work for lego. there's an international airport, one of only two in the whole country, built because of lego. and there's a lego museum that every new employee must visit. >> what we see here as milestone in our history. >> reporter: there's something called an ideas house where in 1955, they invented the brick we know today. in '62, by the way, they invented the wheel. yep, this is my head made out of

lego complete with receding hairline and massive chin. if this ghastly statue proves one thing, that you can make pretty much anything out of legos. but just five years ago, this iconic brand looked finished. founded during the great depression of the 1930s by a struggling carpenter, ole kirk christensen, who made toys to survive, lego seemed to have fallen out of fashion. christensens who still ran the business lost their way. legos had debts of nearly $1 billion. sales slumped 40% in just two years. then a guy called jorn was handed the reins. when you took over as ceo, lego was almost dead. >> right. >> reporter: knut, former consultant, fired 1,000 people

and streamlined production. they used to make 13,000 different pieces. now they make just 6,000. >> the lady over there is actually filling in the last -- >> reporter: the store sold lego land to a company that actually knows how to run a theme park. popular lines, many of them aimed at girls, were discontinued. >> when we were struggling i was thinking, geez, i don't know where the lego is part of a future. >> reporter: he figured even in an age of tv and video games kids want to play with their hands. lego has moved away from the purer, simpler lego i remember from my youth. ♪ >> reporter: these days lego men carry guns. there's more fighting and it seems, more instructions. >> you can build the high-tech lego agent's car. >> reporter: while i felt that lego let my imagination run wild -- >> it's in your hands to help

indiana jones solve the great mystery. >> reporter: now kids are told how to create an indiana jones fight scene. by doing that you are imposing some limits or directions on the child easily creative play. >> i don't think it limits their imagination, i think it shows them, here's another play scenario, here's another play scenario. what i find when i see children playing, suddenly there's a pirate ship sailing straight into a star wars base. and i say, hang on, you can't do this. they say, why? >> reporter: hip young things like wil, charges with dreaming up new things to hook a new generation. >> i loved legos but i didn't actually think of it as a job. >> reporter: it is now. wil gets paid for coming up with stuff like atlantis. an 8-year-old kid might be able to do your job better than you. >> possibly. but i'll try not to think about that. >> reporter: by the way, it's

not just for kids. afols, adult fans of lego, are big. apparently accounting for up to 10% of sales. there's even a magazine. arthur, a grown-up, made the taj mahal. affol daniela built this sweet french-looking house. after the rock bottom of 2004, lego gradually began to make a bit of money again. then something extraordinary happened. in 2008, as recession deepened, as toy sales in the u.s. fell by 5%, lego sales in america climbed an astonishing 38%. the brick was back. >> one of the reasons is that parents see this as a good investment. it's not seen as sort of the so-called wasteful society of buying something and throwing it away. >> reporter: perhaps. it is a gift that keeps on giving. you can make pretty much anything out of legos.

even a second-rate correspondent. i'm nick watt in billund, denmark. >> nick's funny. >> really. a good replication. >> one website said a lego set is sold every seven seconds in the world.wetjet absorbs so much dirt you'll never go back to your old mop. [ funny voice ] hey, mop! wanna suck up dirt and grime like swiffer wetjet? then try the absorb-a-straw! now you're gettin' it. [ female announcer ] sorry, mop, but swiffer wetjet has a dirt dissolving solution and super absorbent pads that trap and lock dirty water deep inside the gradient core ♪ she blinded me with science when pain keeps you up, nothing is proven to help you fall asleep faster than advil pm liqui-gels. rushing real liquid relief to ease you to sleep fast. for nighttime pain, make advil pm your #1 choice.

time for "insomniac theater," rob. now i watched the new drew barrymore romantic comedy. hard to go wrong there. we'll get to that in a second. you checked out the champion of the box office this weekend, the new george clooney movie. george clooney? >> willis saw it too. you know, i'm a big george clooney fan, he's like the coolest guy in hollywood. i thought this was a lousy, lousy, boring, slow, not worth my 13 bucks movie. do in the let this clip fool

you, this is not an action, suspen suspense, shoot up the bad guys, car chase, blow it up kind of movie. it's an extremely slow, brooding, dark, artsy, impress you with the cinematography movie. don't waste your money going to the theater. basically george is a professional killer, hiding out from bad guys in italy. he has one more assignment, basically this make this gun for a fellow assassin. then he has a change of heart, decides he wants to get out of the business which sets up a whole other chain of events. he also happens to find a love interest. here's him in the movie talking to that young lady. >> if i asked you to come away with me, would you? >> come away with you? together? >> together. >> forever? >> forever.

>> yes. >> 1 kernel, my worst review in the history of "insomniac theater." did not enjoy this slow, boring -- fit wasn't for the gratuitous nudity i would have given it half a kernel. >> there you go. >> i'm done. >> all right, so i fared much better. i saw "going the distance." for anyone who's ever been in a long-distance relationship, you'll find yourself saying, i know what they're talking about. there's drew barrymore and justin long. let's listen to what they talk about just before they get ready to part ways. >> i'll be right back to get your order. >> okay. >> i've never enjoyed getting to know someone more. it's been such a good six weeks. went by so fast. i can't really articulate -- six weeks too fast, me like you, wine.

oh my god. >> that's disgusting. >> that is just before they are then separated by 3,000 miles. i liked it.

president obama gets ready to hit the road to unveil some new pieces of his economic plan. his critics aren't buying it. >> they're just flailing around. from the deep comes the piece of equipment that was supposed to prevent the bp oil disaster. the fbi is now looking into why it didn't work. and, the changes at "american idol." >> the ratings went down approximately 5 million this year. they cannot lose another 5 million next season. >> what can be done to revive tv's most popular show? it's labor day, monday, september 6th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now."

>> weird times for the nation's most popular tv show. a lot going on. >> yes, casting now for the new season, not only for the contestants, they're trying to secure the judges as well. randy jackson is the only guy left standing. >> last man standing. still have not firmed up who the judges are going to be. a lot of names out there but waiting to find out the final answer. >> they're smart. you know what it does, it gets us talking about it. >> that's right. >> it gets people revisiting the show. >> they need a ratings boom, that's for sure. we'll see if the new judges can give them that. good morning. happy labor day. i'm rob nelson. >> i'm mike marusarz in for vinita nair. president obama heads to wisconsin today to celebrate labor day at a large gathering of union workers. >> with the economic recovery stl stalled and midterm elections a few weeks away now, the president is under renewed pressure to come up with a new

strategy. david kerley has that story from the white house. >> reporter: back from camp david, president obama is preparing to hit the road, unveiling his new economic plan with additional tax cuts. but already republicans are dubbing it too little, too late. >> we always like to see a death bed conversion, but the fact is if we'd have done this kind of thing nearly a couple of years ago, we'd be in a lot better shape. look, they're just flailing around. >> reporter: the administration confirms the president will call for a permanent extension and expansion of the research tax credit, which allows businesses to write off development costs. mr. obama may also endorse a payroll tax holiday for new hires. having now admitted that the economic recovery has stalled. >> jobs are being created, they're just not being created as fast as they need to. >> reporter: with no appetite for another large stimulus, the white house is calling this plan a targeted initiative. >> what you hope is if you can throw enough small things at the economy, shoot enough small

bullets, that you'll do enough to actually be able to win this war against what is a very fragile recovery. >> reporter: but can it make a difference with less than 60 days to the midterm elections? or is part of the president's plan a hail mary pass, daring republicans to join him and pass popular tax cuts right before the election? >> it allows him to define the republicans as the party of no. if democrats seize on that opportunity, i think that's a great opportunity for democrats. >> reporter: that's certainly not what polls show. with republicans gaining ground even in traditionally democratic areas. and becoming more confident they will take back control of the se. >> republican-based voters can't wait to get to the polls to register their vote on election democrats are having a hard time even getting ou >> reporter: many democrats are distancing themse the head of theic committee said on sunday,the are foolish to do so, saying ty halot of. david kerley, abc news, the white house. u.s. troops battled heavily

armed insurgents who attacked an iraqi military headquarters in baghdad over the weekend. it's the first time since combat officially ended last month that american soldiers have been involved in fighting. 12 people were killed when suicide bombers set off a car bomb then fought theiway insbu being killed. authorities in new zealand have extended a state of emergency in the t chhquake-ravaged city of - the two-day extension comes as army troops took control of the city center earlier today. a 7.1 magnitude quake badly damaged many businesses in that area two days ago. authorities say that at least 500 buildings were damaged. luckily, no one hur investigators probing the massive bp oil spill in the gulf of mexico are about to examine a key piece of evidence from that broken well. and as matt gutman reports, they'll be asking why the well's blowout preventer failed to be the last line of defense. >> reporter: like some mangled creature raised from the deep, this million-pound mass of steel could tell the